Watch: National Prayer Breakfast 2013 live

The annual National Prayer Breakfast was held Thursday morning at the Hilton Washington International Ballroom in Washington, D.C. The annual … Continued

by Elizabeth Tenety

The annual National Prayer Breakfast was held Thursday morning at the Hilton Washington International Ballroom in Washington, D.C. The annual event, first established by President Eisenhower in 1953, gathers a bipartisan group of political and religious leaders, as well as a diverse group of activists, to pray for America. Although the event is inclusive of many faiths, it is hosted by a Christian organization and calls for leaders to gather “to come together under the leadership example of Jesus.”

President Obama delivered an address on the role of religion in America, as well as how spirituality shapes his life.

“We come together because we’re a people of faith,” Obama said. We know that faith is something that must be cultivated. Faith is not a possession. Faith is a process.”

“As Christians we place our faith in the nail-scarred hands of Jesus Christ. But so many other Americans also know the close embrace of faith: Muslims and Jews, Hindus and Sikhs, and all Americans whether religious or secular have a deep abiding faith in this nation.”

The comical part of this is he prayed for humility in Washington so he might want to look in the mirror this is the most arrogant, pompous man ever to be elected. I thought Bush was the worst but this guys beats him two fold

dcofer

Tom enlighten us with your definition

kc_in_dc

Please take a helicopter next time…. traffic was a nightmare this morning.

higgsbosono

I won’t live long enough to see a humanistic agnostic in the White House. This farcial kow-towing to whatever gods may be will continue. Maybe Karl Marx did have it right: Religion is the opium of the people.

Secular1

The whole notion of NPB is an exercise in futility. It has been established beyond a shadow of any doubt that prayer, any prayer is total waste of breath. Even when the object of the prayer is specific and concrete, like quick healing of a patient, or an amputee to grow back a limb, any limb – such as growing of a leg even when the person’s arm was amputated. So to expect a prayer at a national level would to ameliorate the malaise fo a nation is totally preposterous. This should not be held year after year in this 21st century. President Obama would do well to distinguish himself from the rest of the superstitious political class by stopping to attend this jamboree of ignorant, superstitious clowns in the gowns, starting next year and the rest of his term.

Marcia L Constable

I agree with President Obama, that faith is a process. Faith in god is a really long process and it’s a worthwhile challenge. Faith in one’s nation however, now that’s a little vague. Am I supposed to have faith in all the people of America? I think that would be entirely foolish. Am I supposed to have faith in our governments? Now that would be REALLY foolish. The best that I can do is hope that they too are working on their spiritual faith, and that they want to do what’s right at all times, that they don’t get involved in wanting to be the guy, wanting recognition, wanting power or money. Those are hard things to resist. I wish them all the strength, all the determination, and all the faith in god, but do I put my faith in them? Not many of them, that’s for sure.

XVIIHailSkins

Your familiarity with presidential history clearly doesn’t stretch back very far.

XVIIHailSkins

The panderer in chief returns. Pretending to believe in Christian mythology must be a welcome vacation for Obama, I can’t imagine his day gets any easier. I’m quite certain that genuflecting to the baby Jesus in front of simple people is one of the first things an up and coming politician learns from his handlers when they sit down to discuss strategy.

wowpeople1

XVIIHailSkins call the faithful simple people. What a truly ignorant comment. A look back at history shows many people that one could not consider simple to be true believers. The only thing simple here is the widely-casted net of ignorance thrown by one that believes he’s superior.

ThomasBaum

Sometimes the simple people are simple enough to know that they don’t know it all.

XVIIHailSkins

I agree wholeheartedly, Thomas.

ThomasBaum

I’m a simple person and I know that I don’t know it all but I do know a little.

I do know that God Is and that God Is a Trinity since I’ve met Who is referred to as God the Father and Who is referred to as the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit revealed to me that the Catholic Eucharist is Jesus, there’s the Trinity.

I have also met satan.

I may not know a lot but I do know a little.

Wildthing1

Speak for yourself, your faith in unprovable concepts is puriely your own and nothing for basing real life actions on. Whicjhh we know is true anyway becausethe relgion of the US is the worship of war and the dessemination of lies to support the unsupportable actions against humanity in artibrary self-judgements as if we think we ourselves are god.

alltheroadrunnin

Wildlthings – breath in, breath out, you’ll be fine.

alltheroadrunnin

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t believe in any god any human tells me about. You can’t get safer than that. But, if i wanted to be the president of the United States of America, I’d change that tune.

jameschirico

Whether you have belief or not is a choice you have in this country. Whether you have moral norms is more universal. We don’t pollute, we care for the sick, we don’t kill each other. We have laws against lying (perjury), stealing (robbery). fraud, murder, EPA standards, health care even if only ERs, etc.

XVIIHailSkins

These things you claim to know aren’t exactly trivialities, Thomas, and claiming to know them belies your supposed humility.

slowe111

I for one,as a mature adult, DO NOT want to be a child… of God or anyone. So, please, Mr. President, do not say that I am or imply that i should want to me. I find it embarassing to be childlike, or act like a child, or consider myself a child in any sense. We grow out of childhood – or should as we mature. To aspire to the title of child is regressive and immature.

As President of these Secular United States, you should not even be attending much less speaking at such an event. Please, keep your religion at home, in your church and to yourself. And most importantly, do not assume the rest of us are like you in this respect. By showing favoritism to Christians is this way you dismiss, denigrate, and disrespect all others.

leibowde84

A marxist is one who doesn’t believe in the free-market. With the terms “marxist” or “socialist,” there is no in between. There are various other terms to describe people who only partially adhere to the tenants of communism/socialism.

To claim that Obama is a “Marxist” or a “socialist” is to ignore his use of the free-market and his belief in financial success (which is pretty clear from his own success).

Long story short, democrats cannot be “socialist.” They are exclusive terms.

leibowde84

A Socialist who calls himself a Democrat is just flat out wrong. It’s a missuse of terms.

leibowde84

There … now can all of you nuts who claim that Obama isn’t Christian finally shut-up?!

ThomasBaum

I never said or implied that what I “know” is trivial.

I don’t “claim” to know what I wrote in the post, I stated as a “fact” that I know what I wrote.

God chose to reveal to me what God revealed to me and I believe that it was God Who allowed satan to do what satan did and I believe that at least one of the reasons for this was that I needed to know that satan was real as opposed to being just a concept.

What does “humility” have to do with stating a “fact”?

Sounds to me that you are speaking more of false humility, it was God’s initiative not mine.

There is plenty that I do not know and I believe that if I need to know something to do the “job” God chose me to do than somehow God will let me know what I need to know.

ThomasBaum

Sure does seem to upset some people that the President of the United States seems to believe that even the President has the right to exericise the rights that are stated in the Bill of Rights.

OmartheLittle

WAPO forgot that others spoke and, really, THIS guy stole the breakfast. I admire him more than I did when I was 16 and saw him speak in Baltimore. A true patriot and gentleman.

For a President who has faith that Christ isn’t there one can see motivation in areas previously considered dormant. Refusal to send aid to overseas US diplomatic personnal who signal the White House with “Arttack !!! Attack !!! Attack !!!” being one of them. Little things like that no longer stall next-day campaign speeches.